Thursday, August 25, 2016

Nigel Farage speaks at a Trump Rally

I watched with fascination:

Just listen to Nigel Farage’s speech: he attacks the big banks, multinational corporations and “modern global corporatism”; he attacks the elites. In some respects, you can easily see a left-wing politician saying the same things.

What to make of this? This is clearly right-wing populism at work.

But, in reality, there is a strange schizophrenia within this movement: namely, they are weak on economics, and divided into the (1) free market populists and (2) right-wing populists who are verging to the left on economics.

I mean Farage may be a nationalist, but he is a Thatcherite and quasi-libertarian on economics. Trump is actually well to the left of Farage on economics.

I predict this is going to be a big problem for the populist right. In the end, they need to go left-wing on economics or their movement will fail badly, but I suspect it will be hard for many of them to break with free market theology.

7 comments:

Well, the Brexit movement was a combination of Thatcherites and industrial policy-ites.

What they held in common was that whether it's liberal economic policies or tighter regulations, they should not be imposed from the EU level.

The EU has heavily deregulated some industries but also heavily regulated others. It's a mixed bag. On one hand, it forces austerity and budget cuts on governments, but on the other hand, it does reduce business freedom on many other fronts.

"On one hand, it forces austerity and budget cuts on governments, but on the other hand, it does reduce business freedom on many other fronts." This is hilarious. "on the other hand"? Let's rephrase. The bureaucrats impose rules on everyone." (And the basic complaint is that it does so in a way that is not democratically accountable, or for the good of the people as a whole. )

"On immigration, 80% say the federal government should remove restrictions on high-skill immigration. A majority of economists, 61%, say there should be increased immigration more generally."http://www.marketwatch.com/story/to-professional-economists-trump-isnt-even-the-second-best-presidential-candidate-in-the-race-2016-08-22----------Why do they think that?

Could it be that they think all human being are basically substitutable, immigration will lower costs, and markets will generate a full employment equilibrium? lol

There is the same thing in France, with Marine LePen and Florian Philippot(leaders of National Front), who are in favor of a planification of the industry growth(like during the 60th) and of an importante welfare state.

I think trumpism is the same thing than "marinism"(in different national context):-a defense of the welfare state and public program(they want created a keynesian stimulus against the crisis).-a opposition to the muslim immigration, which cause some regression on women and homosexual's right and cause violence.-an opposition to the globalisation(protectionnism, less migration, etc).

I France, this movement is call "national-republicanisme" or "national-populism". This movement don't have any political coherent, they just protect interest of the periphery, like Christophe Guilluy says(in his book "La France périphérique"). I don't if his book was translate in english but it is really helpness to understand the rise of the french national front(and Trump, because it's the same mecanism).

Yep, but I'm not satisfied by the french left which sacrified the welfare state for European Union. The left Party(le Parti de Gauche of Jean-Luc Melenchon) is an eurosceptic party, but a lot of people in his movement just want to change European Union. And they don't want to stop immigration.

In National Front it's more complicate:-some people in national front are leftist(for exemple Florian Philippot), it's the "national-republican" branch(the father of this tradition is Jean-Pierre Chevenement, one creator of the french socialist Party).-other are people of right, with racism, neo-liberalism, and old catholicism(anti-republicainism), for exemple it's the position of Marion-Maréchal LePen.